Bush Pilot Biking :: Trip Log

The Happiest Place on Earth - Pt. 2

2008-09-06T22:04:00.001-07:00

Yeah, it's too much for just one post, so I split it. Anyway, back to our story. As you recall, I'd eaten a lunch that had some dubious looking lettuce on it, but food is food....right?

Things were fine at this point, as Wade showed us the proper technique.

Everyone took the advice to heart, and a mad session ensued.

Pic o' the day....

Somewhere around here I was siezed by some chills, and felt the urge to barf, which I manfully (stupidly?) repressed.

OK, no pics for a bit. I was definitely poisoned. Somehow, I manged to throw up FIVE times, and interstingly only the lettuce came out. So now Ihave to live with the fact the Tippie out climbed me. Oh the humiliation.....

Meh...whatever. By Awesome Rock I was feeling a little bit better.

Pics never do this one justice. Arthur is on an 85 degree slope there.

And now the standard scenic shots from the last viewpoint.

Yes Burton, I agree.

Simmons, quit posing.

You too, Brett.

A big ride and a big beer. two great tastes that go great together.

Another one in the books. Not sure about the random psycho who came by and stomped ona bunch of beers, then peeled out giving us the finger, but it added some spice to the day.

Oh, and by the way, Brett doesn't need to stick his dick in a jar of peanut butter. The end result is already there.

The Happiest Place on Earth - Pt. 1

2008-09-06T12:04:00.000-07:00

What....two years have already gone by and I haven't gone for a Disney run?

Well no wonder. At least it's not duct tape and a half chewed EatMore....

Actually, it was Andrew's birthday and he's never been on one of these, so here ya go...the birthday boy ridin' shotgun.

Good views from that chair.

With our first lift access, we had some time for plenty of pics, and between Andrew and Wyld Willy there were plenty of SLR's on the flight.

Say hi to Willy...

OK, enough with the artsy crap...

Arthur, with some kind of gas or something...

Ahh, just relax, the bikes are coming....

Holy FroRiders! Yes, that's Tippie AND Simmons there with Willy.

Ready, set, walk yer bikes?!

Oh, there's the trail.

Our diverse crew, which included other veterans of the heli scene like our old pal Burton, also had several first timers. Not that it mattered. This ride quickly degenerated into something of a hammer fest. If you can call falling down cliffs like these hammering.

I know Burton was a bit worried about the size of the crew, but at this point I think he was more worried about his fitness. These guys can all ride pretty good.

Ah yes. Lunch. Where it all fell apart for me.

Seems I got a tainted sammie from Safeway. I was feeling fine until this point. Maybe a bit outta shape compared to some of the hammers that came along, but nothing too bad.

At this point, I still felt at least as good as Lane did here.

What do I mean? Well, just stay tuned for the next post and I'll tell ya.....

Nű Shuttle

2008-09-01T16:28:00.000-07:00

Wildlife shot. Your standard youngish coyote there.

With a rare day off, I hooked up with another highlander and went to check out the new access road up McDougall. It sure makes it easy to get up that climb now.

Andrew hasn't been up here yet. Three years here and he's just fining out about the mad variety of singletrack we call the Okanagan.

These kids are still in school and they know all about it.

Return of the Old Neighbours

2008-08-30T17:21:00.000-07:00

Must be Labour Day, as Simon has returned with the crew, lots of beer, and a few chickens....

They said they wanted to try out something a bit more radical, so we went over to Addiction for a session. As a bonus, Ryan McKenna came out to show us how the locals send it.

Oh, and Addiction engineer Andrew was out as well...

And now, several Wally's.....

..and a couple of step downs.

Check out this rack.

After a few runs on Postill, we made an abrupt change of locale and went over to Gillard.

Another crap day finishing in the God light.

Not sure what happend next, but the phone rang and suddenly everyone had to drive back to Vancouver. Sorta wierd, but it was a good day of riding. Until the end of NEXT summer....

Newfie Redux

2008-08-26T20:58:00.000-07:00

It's been a LONG time since we've seen a newfie around here.

Too long...

Our old pal O-Dea and his charming wife Tina called us outta the blue for a ride the other day. As we had nothing going on (well, the whole new baby thing is kind of eating up some time, and we did manage to go camping with her... another story), we went for a rip in the Mice trails.

I think they're plotting some kind of move in this next shot. Like moving out to Kelowna or something.

Well, it was just a mellow ride, so enjoy this singletrack shot.

..and this canyon shot.

Nice to see you guys again. Lets do this ore often. Oh, and tell Trask to stop having kids. It's not a contest, eh?

Done

2008-08-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

Took long enough...

Four And A Half Men - Last Day

2008-08-18T12:16:00.000-07:00

All good things must come to an end, and so here we are at the end of what has been a most memorable tour.

We went back out to Powers for a farewell lap of Builders Only to see what we could accomplish in the last few hours of the tour.

Looks like we accomplished a lot of airtime on some good sized moves.

Trip was on a bit of a mission as well.

I think he's been thinking about Crazy Train since the first day. Look closely, you can see the determination.

Visualization, preparation.....execution. There you go. A 12 year old nailing Crazy Train.

On a rental bike no less. Good work, we can all learn from the young I think. And we won't say anything more about the dislocated ribs and concussion that happened to one of the older riders a few minutes later. He doesn't remember it anyway.

Everybody say, "Bye bye, baby!"

Four And A Half Men - Day 4

2008-08-17T10:42:00.000-07:00

No pics fromt he boys ride yesterday. They were at Silver Star and I was inthe hospital with the family, so you'll just have to imagine some pics of their day.

Today we went to Gillard to shred the Kelowna gnarcore.

Tyler put on a clinic for the boys, to make sure that they got the idea.

Ooops, forgot to phone the girlfriend. The boy has skills on the bike, and apparently in other areas too. Look at that spadework....

Still, better get home or this will be your ONLY ride...

The young gun was paying attention earlier.

Bum shot of Matt on a BIG rock line.

Ooops. Trip gets the bums rush. He got some cool tread marks on his arm on this one.

No harm, no foul. Everyone felt good enough to try this wall.

Of course, Trip makes everyone look lame by comparison. You can really see how big this bike is on him here.

Still, inspiration for the rest of the crew.

I think they might actually be tired now. A short day to finish off tomorrow and we're done.

Freshie!

2008-08-16T13:17:00.001-07:00

And now the conclusion to yesterday's cliffhanger. Barb had gone in for a regular check as she was now 10 days or so overdue. Which is a long time. Seeing as there were absolutely no signs of her beginning labour, I fugured we were still a few days away from any action.

Well, my phone rang in the middle of the second run saying otherwise. I guess the doctor wanted to talk about hurrying things along, and someone sounded a little anxious. I shortly found myself unshowered and unfed, but wearing this badass teal ensemble.

Barb had an old friend to keep her company too.

She was definitely a bit nervous about the impending situation. Who wouldn't be?

Barb, our awesome midwife, was on hand to explain things. The doc came by to reinforce it. As things weren't even close to happening naturally, and with Barb's size and what appeared to be a big baby, it looked like a C-section was the best course of action. We were all ready to try the natural route, but our chances of succeeding weren't great, so we opted for the surgery. It's a mild disappointment, but really...it's about the baby not us.

So off to the OR we went, at just after midnite. Have a look at my Mom. See how youthful she looks? Next time you see here she'll be a grannie.

Well, it didn't take very long. Lacking in romance perhaps, but highly efficient. As I expected, we got a girl.

8 lbs, 14oz, and about 21" long. Also, she shares a birthday with Madonna.

Barbara Anna, meet Anna Siobhan (you pronounce it Shivon. It's gaelic, and as most gaels are completely illiterate you are allowed to get creative with the spelling).

The whole family.

And our friend The Mug.

OK, quiz time: whose hand is who's?

Three generations of ladies get acquianted. Grannie, Auntie Jennie, and baby.

Yup, she's a big'un.

She sure is scrunchy looking, just like her dirtbag daddy.

Yup, you can feel those female hormones kick in.

She's got her moms cheeks, lungs, and nose.

She's got my hair though, the little hippy.

Whattya think, granny?

She's just like a Red Delicious.

Although my sister called her "Little Burrito" when she saw her all swaddled up.

Happy Birthday, Siobhan. You've got lots of adventures ahead of you.

Four And A Half Men - Day 2

2008-08-15T17:55:00.000-07:00

Hmmm. I think we should stay close to home today. Something seems to be telling me that I don't want to go far for some reason.

Good thing we've got tihs kind of action in the back yard.

Bryon almost pulled an Oli here, but got away with only scrapes.

As usual, the kid cleaned up.

Tyler put on a bit of a clinic on how to deal with the wooden structures.

Seems to be working. I'm having a hard time keeping the boys in the frame.

Maybe I'm just pre-occupied. Will was much better focussed than me.

See? I keep chopping heads off. Something must have been distracting me....

It takes a while to do Builders the first time. There's a lot of lines to figure out, like this nice berm drop combo.

Yup, the half a man continues to dominate the fully growed editions.

Round two and we went for the longer lap, even though temps were firmly in record territory again. It was even hotter than yesterday.

Still, we had a mellow lap with all the breaks to fix Bryon's flats. At least he had the decency to flat in places where we could session some hits.

T kept the pace going the rest of the time.

Here he demonstrates how to keep the sun shining outta his.....

Oh, and also how to rail this wooden berm.

Will got that memo, I think.

Yeah, something was keeping me pre-occupied all day. It's sort of like I was EXPECTING my phone to ring.

Foreshadowing, it'sa cheap trick but it's sure effective. Kind of like a cliff hanger ending.....

Four And A Half Men - Day 1

2008-08-14T15:40:00.000-07:00

No, it's not a cheesy new sitcom. Neither is it a reference to our often larger than normal clientele. This time, it just means that these guys brought along a smaller than usual rider.

They got here yesterday afternoon, and I think Will is still on North Carolina time...

We have a special surprise guest guide with Super T hanging out with this group. That Tyler sure knows how to party.

OK, enough preliminaries. Here's the "half" showing the old farts how it's done. Trip is twelve, so let that be a warning to you.

Yup, Matt got sucked in by the young'n.

Bryon wasn't letting himself get upstaged so easily.

But upstaged he was, nonetheless.

Todays woldlife shot, a green rattlesnake. Right when I was telling the story about the last one we saw too. Phil found it when he was looking for a place to pee, which reminds me of this joke about the Lone Ranger and Tonto....

We did a couple of laps on the Bog, and then ripped over to hit up another run on Drops A Lot.

It was another epic day up there. Here's T on the drop.

Trip keeps getting these epic pics. Do you think it's the white wheels or what?

Justin, who figured out that cotton is better than poly on the hot days.

Oh, it looks like Matt figured out to drop some of the padding too. It's just shy of 100F or 37C right here.

The Sheep Shagger wasn't as astute. He's not as experieenced with the desert heat, and didn't bring enough water either. I think maybe the fact that he's on his honeymoon might explain this little lapse in judgement. He's still riding half decent anyway...

Tyler dropping in on a steep section.

Ahhhh, the Shagger hit the wall. Luckily, it was a well stocked wall. Better sit down, bug fella. This might take a while...

Our Okanagan post-ride tradition.

Mrs Sheep Shagger tries a taste.

Well, the winery is always nice, but the lake is even nicer. So what if we forgot glasses?

Barb and Harley gettin' cool.

They MUST be tired. Either that, or Harley has some powerful gas.

Nuggets

2008-08-04T20:34:00.001-07:00

An all star cast of thousands today. While we wait (and wait...and wait...) for Barb to pop, some random friends have been dropping by for rides. This time it's our old pal Gabe (aka, the Nugget, Bobby Hill, Eddie Munster, Corky, etc., etc. You may know him from Cove Bikes), along with some girliy frieds of his, Super T and his girl, Brant, and my cousin from Vanderhoof.

Told ya it was a lot of folks.

Super gettin' his drop on.

Good to see that he's not going to go this big, at least on his hardtail.

Gabe checkin' out a drop.

Yo coz, how's this compare to the 'Hoof?

Tyler hangin' on to some steeps.

Aja lettin' go on the same one.

Where'd she go?

Brant taking a little break. Actually, he broke his hand pretty good a month or so ago, and this probably wasn't the best move in his bag of tricks. He STILL can't play the piano, but his hand is OK.

Yeah Nugget.

Kristen...

...and Aja hanging on to the marbles at the top of Ivy League.

Yeah, you know you want to click it...

Sucka...you shold know better by now.

Just because I like you, enjoy this pic of rad Canadian girls on bikes. They can probably kick yer ass, and you wish they would.

Carly hanging on to the biggest and best ride of her life.

:Just when this ride gets to be a bit much, we end up at a winery. Anyone for a taste?

The Nugget, top down, laid back...

Anyone for a dip...

..and some refreshments? This is going to stay in the brochure I think.

Yeah, bikes, babes, beach, and some local vino. We're livin' it.

Todays nature pics include a June Bug...

...and a Praying Mantis. See ya soon.

**Yes, I'm behind on the updates, and yes, Barb did pop last night. I'll have full details in a couple of days, just be patient. We have a daughter, she's quite lovely and healthy.

Center of Gravity - Day 2

2008-08-03T23:12:00.000-07:00

"All of your base belong to us"

Yes, it's DAY 2, and the shenanigans continue.

Today was best line, and the kids were going for it.

Yo, is that SUPER T? Did he just throw a back flip? Old guys' got skillz...

So, unlike yesterday, it was about who could throw down the whole line today. Not just one jump, but the overall styles.

I dunno what you think, but that set of denims on the right has some serious styles if you ask me.

Must have been the Romo fan club...

Anyway, back to the comp.

So everyone jumped. I forget who won. It was some youg guy who slayed a couple of nice clean runs without missing any landings. Pretty sweet. Casey threw down this flipwhip after the event, just because.

Oh, and Romo had to send a big three without tacoing his wheel....

....just because.

Center of Gravity - Day 1

2008-08-02T12:18:00.001-07:00

Ever wonder what goes on inside Dangerous Dan's head? Apparently a bunch of earwax....

So this is the Center of Gravity, which is a new mid-summer beach festival in Kelowna. Take a bunch of beach volleyball players and mountain bikers and toss them on the beach. Good idea.

It's a small event at this point. Just a handful of locals like Casey Groves, Garet Buehler, Sterling Grassick, Romo, Doerfling, Schnepf, and Super T.

That seems to be enough to put on a show though.

The first day required some tuning on the jumps.

The boys didn't seem to have too many problems. A handful of unknown locals really spiced up the show.

Here's the roll in ramp from a fun angle.

Our man Rob was running the elevator. Watching a few of the guys ride UP the rollin was more fun though.

Of course, there was also some beach volleyball if you wanted something different.

I don't know what it is, but I spent a lot of time watching volleyball...

Or you could try to watch it all at once.

How do you like my new fisheye lens? Actually, Romo kept over-rotating his three's, and went through a bunch of wheels. Too much 'zest' can ruin the sauce....

DJ's, flow show, beer garden, volleyball. Nice one with two guys airborne on the same hit.

Super T wants you to join him and the other zombies in their brain eating activities.

Cheeker and Romo.

Random guy (Mr. White) that stole my camera.

Yeaaahhhhhh Booooooooyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Oh, and I got to be a judge for the best trick comp. Here's a look at one of my fellow judges score sheet (one Shane Jensen, former child star).

I got the crap end of the deal apparently. Check out what these guys got to judge.

Oh yeah...

Some kind of show, isn't it?

It came down to these two.

I was kind hypnotized by the colour blue at this point.

But the judges saw it differently. I'm satisified with that decision....

Farah and Oli - Last Day

2008-07-28T10:06:00.000-07:00

Well, we left the pair of them in some sort of second rate flophouse in Whistler.

I guess they got sort of bored with the place....

..because Oli asked Farah to marry him, and she went for it.

Congratulations are in order. Now get to work! Barb and I are waiting for you to have babies....

Farah and Oli - Day 9 **Bonus

2008-07-27T22:36:00.000-07:00

Yes, some bonus content for you. These pics are all courtesy of Wyld Silly at Spectrum Techwear.

Yes, our setup is a bit twisted.

Harlan and Dean on Kobau, ready for lap 1.

Necker on my Chromag. As you can see, he's plainly struggling adapting to the hardtail.

Oh hey, it's me again.

..and again.

And Harlan.

Oh, and Rick. This is Rick's second mountain bike ride ever. He's a bit of a natural.

Awesome shot of Necker onthe hoodoos at the bottom of lap 1.

This one of Harlan is OK too.

Gary "does-this-lens-make-my-ass-look-fat" Pope.

OK, lap 2.

It's called TKO. Rick has no idea why. He's just hitting everything on his second ride.

You know, some of us had to practice to figure out how to ride this stuff.

Dean on some kind of ribcage type of manuever.

Harlan on the last hit of the day.